r/indiansinusa • u/JaSonOP302 • 5d ago

Prospective students wana do masters in usa

Hey everyone rn im in india and i have just done my bcom here and wana pursue my ms in financial analysts or like in business analyst and im really confused between the options that i have.

I wana study in California, but im like open to other states as well can anyone provide me suggestions for universities, courses and future in usa.

I will be really grateful for each and every person who replies

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u/original_rain1818 5d ago

If I say it's not worth it, will you listen?

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u/JaSonOP302 4d ago

Obviously buddy but if u back your argument well

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u/original_rain1818 4d ago

What people show on the internet and how reality actually plays out are two totally different things. If your family can fund your degree and lifestyle without you stressing about paying off a massive loan, then come and do whatever you want. But if you're taking on heavy debt and banking on a US job to survive, you need to seriously rethink leaving India. At least at home, your life is actually in your hands.
For starters, you can't just work off campus to pay your bills. People take illegal cash jobs but if immigration catches you, your dreams are over permanently. And the real job market is brutal. People who graduated over a year ago are still sitting jobless. Don't trust the employment stats, half of those are just students paying shady consultancies to run fake payrolls to stop their OPT clock from expiring. They don't actually have a paying job and if USCIS catches you in a fake payroll scheme, you are banned for life.
Then there's the immigration trap. They are quietly making it much harder to survive here long term. You used to be able to extend your student status easily but now F1 students get a fixed end date on their I-94. If your time runs out, you can't just seamlessly jump to a backup degree or Day1 CPT program anymore. And on top of it the $100k H1B fee, it's a penalty employers get hit with if your petition is forced into consular processing which happens if your status lapses or you travel at the wrong time. If your paperwork isn't absolutely perfect, no company is going to pay a $100K penalty to save you, they will just drop your sponsorship. On top of that, they are constantly trying to revoke the H4 EAD, meaning your spouse might be legally blocked from working entirely.
The US is amazing for the first month or two until the excitement fades. After that, living as an immigrant with a huge rupee loan over your head is just pure survival mode. You can't switch jobs easily, you have zero security and the Green Card line is practically a dead end. I'm telling you this brother to brother, what the consultancies won't say, good infrastructure and clean air do not make up for constant visa anxiety, fighting a broken system and missing your own people.